Sumped Boyu-Tl550 Salt To Fresh

Morning/afternoon/evening all!
 
This pains me to do but due to my job (Royal Navy) im going to have to give up my marine aquarium its only fair i give the missis something easier to look after since i spend alot of time away from home

But new silver linings and all that i have a great opportunity to convert my tank into a freshwater tank!
 
At the moment im debating which way to go with this project (all input welcome here) due to its shape im thinking cichlids wouldnt be the best choice but then shell dwelling species crossed my mind in a sandy slightly rocky looking tank. The other option going through my mind is a overgrown looking tank with plenty of bogwood with community fish such as tetras and corys and maybe a couple of Apisto's (i loved my 2 when I last had a tropical tank) AH THE IDEAS NEVER END!
 
I suppose i should mention the tank before i get carried away. Boyu TL-550's are 30 gallons and normally have a back compartment for filter media etc but i removed all that and sumped the tank (photos to follow) these are oddly shapen tanks in my eyes but i love the look (510Lx570Wx670H mm with a bowed front) the sump is roughly 20 gallons i think.
 
The tank wont be down here until about end of august time so plenty of time to plan
 
These photos are the tank in its infancy (about a year ago) it looks alot better now but i never thought to take a photo of it and im about 200 miles from home so cant take any photos I wont bore you with the sump and build process but it took loads of effort
 
All in all im open to ideas, I love sumps so ill be looking at how to utilise this best as well.

Thanks for looking folks
Ash
 
 
 

Nothing wrong with a freshwater sump, just makes CO2 interesting if you're going for high tech planted. They are indeed tall tanks and none too wide, so you're not looking for many territories. I can see a single pair of apistos working well (they are sometimes a bit picky about cories, as they both occupy the same section of the tank, and they may be a nightmare if they decide to breed). I'm guessing you've been using RO if you're running marine, but do you know what the local tapwater is like? If you're trying to keep it simple for the other half then a dose of dechlor and tap water will be far simpler than any other messing and if the water is super hard or very soft then the decision may be much clearer.

i wont be doing co2 keep it simple with low light plants if i go planted community.

Apistos go well with tetras and other community fish i remember correctly? but i do love corys....hard choice.

Ill be living in gosport and from what i can decipher from the water report the water down here is hard-very hard but im struggling to make sense of this https/www.portsmouthwater.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/GOS-WQ-Summary_2015.pdf
 
I have a RO unit but again thats another thing the misses would have to learn plus making the water the correct parameters so im sticking to tap water.

light wise i have a Aquaray HD tile thats about 5/6 years old so getting on a bit i think ill leave that in when its set up and try it with a few plants see how it gets on, if i need something more specific ill tackle it as and when.

I think im getting some decent stocking ideas.

1 male and 1 female Apisto cacatuoides
10 cardinal tetra (maybe 15)
1 gourami but not sure which yet
 
according to AQ advisor that will put me at 63% stocking (with a dwarf gourami)
 
What do people think to this? apisto's will keep the bottom busy, the cardinals mid sectionish and gourami top section.

Well you're right in the middle of hard there for water. A lot of fish are fine with this, particularly the hardy regulars. Apistos might like things a bit softer, although I've known people get away with it.
 
You mentioned shellies, they're more suited to your water if you want a simple life.

I want plants so i think shellies might be out of the question but i am toying with the idea of splitting the sump in such a way that i can create a mid section which i can then window through the stand so a pair of shellies may be possible down there......either that or some plants and a betta or shrimps....make the most of all the tank space since i dont need a massive amount of space for the actual sump.
 
thank you for taking a look at the sheet i couldnt make head nor tail of it aha so its good to know where i stand.